Running

Dominic had finally reached the edge of the town; it took him nearly half an hour to get to this point from his house. As he was beginning to head out of the town, he noticed smoke rising from the treetops further down the road. He thought nothing of it at the time with only the thought of "It's just campers, there is no need to worry." So, he began to jog slowly at first, enjoying the early fall air mixed with the ending of the summer air. It held a sweet but musty smell to it as the two collided in a wonderful experience which made it even more enjoyable to jog. As he started to head into the woodlands, he noticed burnt patches along the road that typically were not in the area, signs of a fresh fire showed strangely for being just along the out skirts of town. As he progressed further into the trees along the road, what seemed like fog slowly started to cover the road, making it hard to tell where the edge of the road ended and the water ravines on the sides began. Dominic knew the woods well, after all he was raised in these woods as a child. But this time something seemed off, quite off compared to previous adventures into the woods.

The smoke slowly began to rise higher as Dominic ventured forward. Soon after a few steps it became difficult to even see a few inches in front of his self, a strong pungent smell of burnt earth and wood filled the air, the clear signs of a fire in the area. Dominic pulled one of his spare shirts from his rucksack, drenching it in water and wrapping it around his face to filter the smoke. The smoke stung his eyes harshly and made it difficult for him to navigate to the point he had to use his senses and the ability to see the other side to be able to continue along his path. As he continued to walk along the road, he began to see an orange glow through the smoke, another guaranteed sign of a fire spreading. Dominic called to the spirit that followed him constantly, hoping the spirit would hear and come to his aid, "Raven, come to me. I need your help to see what dangers lay in front of me. I must know if my path forward is blocked" he yelled both physically and mentally.

Raven swooped down from the sky, jet black wings flickering in the little sun light that remained in the sky due to the smoke raising higher into the air, she landed on his shoulder lightly. Her claws gripped on Dominic's shoulder as if to hold on from falling. He heard her voice inside of his head as was usual when the spirits talked to him, telling him that the way forward was still safe to travel that the fire had not reached the roadside yet. If he kept going forward in a straight line, he would be able to stay towards the middle of the road in the safest area away from the ravines that were along the roadside. She warned him that the fires were going to start spreading faster that he couldn't take his time. After her brief insight she leapt off his shoulder, her jet-black wings spreading and with three quick sweeps of her wings, flew off into the sky once more. Dominic slowly positioned himself into the center of the road and began to walk forward once again towards the mountains.

The smoke grew thicker and thicker as he continued to move forward, the smell of burning wood was stronger than ever before. He could feel his lungs becoming heavy with every breath he took. His throat felt dry and sore from the smoke and his eyes burned from the fumes that filled the air around him. As he continued forward, he could see a thick fog approaching from the east, cutting off most of his visibility. The street lights were flickering, the power seemed to be failing as he moved forward. Dominic quickened his pace, afraid to be caught in this situation due to his lack of sight. He knew there was no way to avoid this predicament if he didn't speed up his pace, he felt the familiar tug on his shoulder guiding him towards the center of the road.

Once he reached the middle of the road, he stopped to catch his breath and look around. He realized that there was something moving in the distance, he couldn't tell what it was. He looked to the sky and saw Raven circling around high above him. The only thing he could think of was the fire had reached the woods and was creating these strange phenomena that were occurring around him. He knew he had to keep going forward and try to find a safe place to stop and make camp until the fire was put out or until dawn broke over the horizon.

After a few more minutes of walking, he came across a small clearing that was lit up with orange flames, the smoke rising from them almost obscured his view. He stood in shock for a moment as he tried to process everything he just witnessed. He didn't know what to say, what to do. He knew he needed to get out of this area as fast as possible, but he also knew it would be impossible to reach safety in time. There was only one thing left to do; he had to make his stand here and hope to god that his actions would be enough to save everyone else. Dominic slowly made his way towards where the fire was, the thick black smoke blocking out all vision in the area. Once he got close enough, he could smell the acrid scent of charred flesh, the smell of death and corruption. He could hear people screaming and crying as their souls were ripped from their bodies and sent into the abyss. As he approached the edges of the fire, he could see the flames reaching for him, the heat was intense and was making it harder to breathe. Dominic could feel the heat of the flames from afar, he knew if he stayed any longer, it would be too late.

Dominic made a mad dash for the fire, staying low to the ground. He could see his shirt start to burn as the flames reached his body, causing his skin to blister and become red. It felt as if he was running through a wall of fire, he felt the pressure pushing him back, the pain and agony was excruciating. He was ready to give up but then he remembered his training in the army, he remembered what he was trained to do. He pushed forward as hard as he could, he felt the heat of the flames begin to subside as he kept pushing forward, he wanted to get past the fire as quickly as possible to find shelter.

He could see the smoke slowly clearing as he continued to run, he could barely see anything in front of him but he knew that he had to keep going forward. He could see the outline of a large tree ahead and knew that it was the only thing standing between him and safety. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his body starting to tire as he did so. He could see his shirt slowly catching on fire, he ignored it as he continued to run, ignoring the pain and agony as the shirt slowly started to shred apart from the intense heat. He was halfway across the clearing when he tripped over something that was hidden under the dirt and debris, his ankle twisted sharply and he fell to the ground, landing on his tailbone. He grunted in pain and rolled over onto his back, looking up at the sky. He could see the raven flying away from him, the clouds in the distance turning grey. He knew the time was near, he had to act now.